Kiev Court Refuses to Lift Ban on Russian Broadcasters in Ukraine

KIEV, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – The Regional Administrative Court of Kiev on Tuesday refused to overturn a temporary ban on broadcasts of four Russian TV channels in Ukraine, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the courtroom.

“The court decided to dismiss the motion on quashing the ruling,” chief judge Yevgeny Ablov said.

Ablov noted that representatives of TV channels received copies of the ruling earlier this month, but did not exercise their right of appeal. According to the judge, such rulings must be challenged in an appellate court.

The Kiev court adjourned the hearing until April 29.

Last month, broadcasts from the Russian channels of Channel 1, RTR Planet, Rossiya-24, and NTV-Mir were banned in Ukraine.

The National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine said the Russian channels' coverage of the recent events in Ukraine, including the political crisis and Crimea's reunification with Russia, harms national security.

Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's commissioner on human rights, called the ban a violation of the democratic freedoms of millions of Russian-speaking residents in the country, adding that it demonstrated hypocrisy on the part of the country's new leadership, which has declared a commitment to basic human rights.